www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs and politics, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
The government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is pushing to re-establish a low-cost air route to Melbourne, and has announced it will hire a “commissioner for international engagement” to enhance Canberra’s ties with cities abroad, The Canberra Times reported.
It has been five years since the last budget carrier, Tigerair, flew from Melbourne to the Australian federal capital.
See the full story here: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/push-to-reestablish-cheap-air-link-between-canberra-and-melbourne-20160711-gq30ix.html
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs and politics, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Estonian embassy, Canberra.
Estonia has opened an embassy in Canberra, Australia – 25 years after regaining independence.
The foreign minister of Estonia, Marina Kaljurand, opened the new diplomatic mission – the first in the region – on 29 February.
Cooperating with its Nordic neighbour Finland, the embassy is located in a building belonging to the Finnish embassy, reported Estonianworld.com
According to the foreign minister, Estonia wants the opening to strengthen political and security cooperation with a country sharing the same values, as well as with other nations in the area. “In today’s world, with its changing security situation, it is essential for countries sharing the same values and views to be unified and work together,” Ms Kaljurand said. “The opening of this embassy will allow both nations, which are open to innovative solutions and have liberal economies, to further their cooperation.”
The foreign minister said the embassy allowed Estonia to better protect the interests of its citizens residing in Australia, to provide consular services and consular assistance, if necessary. “Every place where our people live is important. Australia has a large Estonian community, which is constantly growing. It is a popular destination for temporary emigration, where an estimated 10,000 Estonians currently live,” minister Kaljurand said.
Marina Kaljurand added that the embassy was also expected to support the interests and cooperative efforts of entrepreneurs. “Our bilateral business contacts have increased and trade with Australia has also increased, as much as a third in the past year.”
The Estonian ambassador in Australia is Andres Unga. The country also has honorary consuls in Perth (Western Australia), Brisbane (Queensland), Hobart (Tasmania), Adelaide (South Australia), and Melbourne (Victoria).
Australia hosts the fifth largest Estonian community in the world. Among the Estonians currently living in Australia, the Sydney community is the liveliest one.
The first Estonians settled in Australia in 1853, and the first Estonian society was established in Melbourne in 1914. During the course of the Second World War, Australia became one of the most important destinations for Estonians looking abroad for safety. In the autumn of 1944, just before the second Soviet occupation, approximately 70,000 Estonians fled the country – first to Germany and Sweden, and subsequently to the US, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Around 7,000 Estonians ended up “Down Under” and Estonian houses were set up in Sydney, Thirlmere, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
During the Soviet occupation, only a very few lucky ones left behind the Iron Curtain to visit their relatives in Australia. Since the restoration of Estonia’s independence and re-accession to the Western world, however, more and more young people have ventured out and taken advantage of the Australian working holiday visa program that Estonia agreed upon in 2005. Many work and live in Australia for a couple of years, and return to their home country, but some opt to stay and even set up their own companies.
The Estonian community in Australia is now one of the largest abroad – along with those in Finland, Sweden, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The young Estonians, who have settled in the new country, cite the positive and adventurous Australian spirit, good quality of life and financial and professional opportunities as the reasons for staying.
See the whole article at http://estonianworld.com/business/estonia-opens-an-embassy-in-australia/
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Night photography captured Canberra’s attention in 2015, with nine out of 10 of the most “liked” images from the ACT government’s tourism Instagram account shot between sunset and sunrise, reports The Canberra Times.
The @VisitCanberra account collects and promotes images by Instagrammers around the city, “encouraging people to holiday in the national capital and, in turn, build a community of social media savvy advocates for the city”.
Sunsets, sunrises, storms and Lake Burley Griffin all proved popular subjects in 2015. Black Mountain and the Telstra Tower were the real stars however, featuring in four of the account’s top 10 most liked photographs.
Nearly 60,000 images were tagged with #visitcanberra on Instagram in 2015.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Canberra
The Australian federal capital Canberra’s spending on tourism is outstripped by the New South Wales south coast, the Hunter Valley and the Sunshine Coast, but it spends more than Hobart and Darwin, a new interactive website shows, canberratimes.com.au reported.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Canberra’s residential and office markets have recorded strong growth in recent months and the hotel sector is set to do the same. National reports are predicting both occupancy and room rate growth, while the local industry has welcomed an “explosion” of new hotels in the capital, domain.com.au reported.
Colliers International’s latest hotel research and forecast report entitled Destination Australia showed that the Canberra market experienced good growth over the past financial year, with occupancy boosted by hosting six matches in the Asian Soccer Cup in January.
According to Colliers’ report, Canberra’s hotel market has seen occupancy rates increase from the high-60s in 2014 to the low-to-mid-70s in 2015.
The report also noted that the ACT hotel market continues to be tightly held with just two major transactions in 2014 – Abode Woden and Ibis Styles Eagle Hawk.
The only major transaction so far this year has been the Brassey Hotel, which was acquired by Doma Group.
Several new hotels have opened over the past 12 months including five-star, 213-room The Avenue Hotel in Braddon. Australian Hotels Association ACT general manager Brad Watts says the new hotels represent confidence in the local market, however government support is required to continue attracting tourists to the city.
“There has been an explosion of new hotels in Canberra with around 400 new rooms opening in the past month including Little National (120 rooms), Abode Narrabundah (86 rooms) and the Vibe Canberra Airport Hotel (185 rooms),” Mr Watts says.
“Currently, there are almost 6000 rooms in the local accommodation sector, compared with more than 5200 at the same time last year. There remains strong private sector interest in further growing the ACT’s accommodation and hospitality market, which is exciting.”
Mr. Watts says this investment has created employment and much-needed economic growth in the hospitality and tourism sector.
“However, on the downside, the New rooms have opened in a relatively short timeframe, so when demand is quiet, there is more competition causing a dilution factor as hotels are competing for a smaller slice of the pie,” Mr Watts says.
“To address this challenge, there needs to be an even greater focus on attracting and hosting large-scale events and having more government investment to draw tourists to Canberra, especially to boost the leisure market.”
Mr.Watts says, while the private sector is investing heavily in tourism and accommodation, the industry needs the ACT government to provide more investment aimed at attracting more visitors to the Capital.
“The ACT hotel industry has welcomed a new tourism marketing partnership program to boost the local visitor economy through innovative partnership projects,” Mr Watts says.
“There has been a strong appetite from the local visitor economy to work together to promote Canberra through this funding scheme.”
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
Andrew Barr, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has conceded the ACT government’s long running efforts to land international flights for Canberra could so far be limited to raising awareness of the city and region’s tourism potential, canberratimes.com reported.
Mr Barr met NSW Premier Mike Baird on Thursday, pitching the potential of direct international flights as an opportunity for Canberra region towns as well as the capital’s tourism providers.
The meeting came after he told a Legislative Assembly committee this week that any moves to schedule flights to Canberra from south-east Asia or New Zealand would ultimately come down to the potential for airlines to make money from new tickets.
Positive meetings with Virgin Australia chief executive John Borghetti and Qantas ACT regional general manager Allan Williams have continued and Mr Barr said he had spruiked Canberra to airlines including Cathay Pacific, Singapore, Air New Zealand, China Southern as well as some low-cost or alliance partners.
www.hovedsteder.blogg.no is a Norway-based blog about the capitals of the world, with a focus on tourism and travel, the environment, diplomatic affairs, lifestyle, culture and entertainment, food and drink. See also our travel blog at www.minbestereise.blogg.no – Contact us at [email protected]
From October 30 Canberra will become the first capital city in the world to legalise Uber and similar ride-sharing services with new regulations in place for drivers, www.skynews.com.au reported.
At the same time, it’s easing restrictions and drastically cutting fees for taxis and hire cars. Uber Australia hopes other states follow the route mapped out by the ACT to regulate ride-sharing services.
Other states playing catch-up with Uber already operating in their area have been left ‘looking like a bunch of slack-jawed banjo-playing yokels’, Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm says.
Uber congratulated the ACT government for showing ‘global leadership’. ‘It’s exactly what we’ve been asking for,’ Uber Australia boss David Rohrsheim told AAP on Wednesday.
‘There’s reviews underway across Australia and we hope this sets a good template. ‘The ride-sharing company will start operating in Canberra from October 30, when the first tranche of regulations come into place. Ride-share drivers must have government accreditation, pass criminal and driving history checks and have safety checks done on their cars. They’ll have to be alcohol and drug free, the same as taxi drivers.
A second stage of regulation, starting once legislation is passed, will require ride-share drivers to have compulsory third party and property insurance as well as training. They’ll have to pay $150 each year in licence and accreditation fees, plus charges for vehicle inspections and background checks.
Passengers won’t be allowed to pay cash unless cars are fitted with security cameras. Taxi drivers facing increased competition will see their licence fees halve on October 30 from the $20,000 charged now, and then drop again to $5000 in 2017. Only taxis will be able to pick up people from cab ranks and off the street – all other drivers must arrange pre-booked fares. Mr Rohrsheim said
Uber complied with these regulations already. The ACT government believes its regulations strike a balance between allowing the sharing economy to thrive in Canberra while recognising the pressure it puts on existing taxi drivers and owners. The Victorian government is also preparing a ride-sharing regulatory scheme to address passenger safety, driver and vehicle standards and insurance issues and NSW is also looking at introducing similar rules.
Senator Leyonhjelm said resolving the problem was a serious issue for tourism. And NSW opposition leader Luke Foley wondered on Twitter why his state was lagging behind.
‘If NSW Govt sources quietly claiming Uber will be regulated in next 6 months, why the bizarre public crackdown?’ he said, referring to NSW Roads and Maritime Services suspending the vehicle registrations of 40 UberX drivers this week.
The NRMA has urged all state governments to legalise ride-sharing services, saying Uber is ‘here to stay’.
Den svenske møbelkjeden IKEA åpner i oktober 2015 sin første butikk i Australias hovedstad Canberra. Regjeringssjefen i Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Cheif Minister Andrew Barr, sier til lokale medier at han tror IKEA-butikken blir en av hovedstadens store turistattraksjoner, der man regner med mer enn en million kunder i året.
IKEA har fra før åtte butikker i Australia, blant annet i delstatshovedstedene Perth i Western Australia og Adelaide i South Australia, og i delstatene New South Wales, Victoria og Queensland.
Hviterussland åpnet i går tirsdag 24.februar ambassade i Canberra i Australia. Dette er første gang Hviterussland oppretter en diplomatisk stasjon i Australia, melder det hviterussiske utenriksdepartementet.
Til stede ved den offisielle åpningen av ambassaden var blant andre Hviterusslands vise-utenriksminister Valentin Rybakov og Australias vise-utenriksminister Ric Wells, og representanter fra det diplomatiske korps i Australias hovedstad.
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Belarusyesterday opened an embassy in Canberra, Australia.This isthe first timeBelarus establishes adiplomatic missionin Australia, according tothe BelarusForeign Ministry.
HM Dronning Sonja, Lady Lynne Cosgrove, HM Kong Harald, og generalguvernør Sir Peter Cosgrove. Foto: David Gray, Reuters / NTB Scanpix / kongehuset.no
Kong Harald (78) og Dronning Sonja (77) innledet i dag 23.februar statsbesøk i Australia. Det er første gang i historien at det avlegges et norsk statsbesøk i landet.
I hovedstaden Canberra, der Commonwealth Avenue var pyntet med norske flagg, ble kongeparet tatt i mot av Australias generalguvernør, som er Dronning Elizabeths representant og i praksis landets statsoverhode, general Sir Peter John Cosgrove, og hans kone Lady Lynne Cosgrove, i generalguvernørens residens, Government House.
Hovedformålet med reisen er å fremme norske økonomiske og næringspolitiske interesser i Australia.
Summary in English:
His Majesty King Harald V and Her Majesty Queen Sonja of Norway conduct a state visit to Australia 23 – 27 February 2015. This is the first time a Norwegian monarch pays an official visit to Australia.
The King, who turned 78 on 21 February, and celebrated his birthday in Australia, and the Queen (77) was welcomed by Australia’s Governor-General, His Excellency General Sir Peter John Cosgrove and his wife, Lady Lynne Cosgrove, on their arrival in the Australian capital.
The visitwill promote Norwegianhigh-tech developmentin the offshore industry,supply industry, the maritime sectoranddefense industry.The visitwill underpinNorwayas aresourceful,reliableandattractive partnerboth politically and economically. The King and Queen areaccompanied byForeign Minister Mr.BørgeBrende,Oil and EnergyMinister Mr.Tord Lien, Deputy Defence Minister Mr.ØisteinBø, and Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Fisheries Ms.DilekAyhan, along with a business delegation.
The Royals will also visit Sydney and Perth.
Some 10,000 Norwegians live in Australia, and more than 23,000 Australians have Norwegian ancestry.
Generalguvernøren og Lady Cosgrove, som er vertskap under besøket, tok Kongeparet med på en liten kengurusafari i parken rundt Government House. Generalguvernøren sitter bak rattet på golfbilen. Foto: David Gray, Reuters / NTB Scanpix / kongehuset.no
Kenguruer i parken utenfor Government House betrakter statsbesøket. Foto: Lise Åserud / NTB Scanpix / kongehuset.no
Men før den offisielle starten på statsbesøket i dag, var det også program for de kongelige og følget deres i går søndag, da de ankom Hyatt Hotel Canberra på Commonwealth Avenue i bydelen Yarralumla.
Dronning Sonja og Kong Harald hilser på Olav Ottesen. Foto: Lise Åserud / NTB Scanpix / kongehuset.no
Blant de inviterte ved velkomsten var krigsveteranen Olav Ottesen. 92-åringen, som har bodd i Australia siden 1950 og har både barn og barnebarn i Canberra, har nemlig møtt kongeparet før, skriver nrk.no
Det var i mars 1970, da daværende kronprins Harald deltok i VM i seiling i Melbourne, et VM der kronprinsen kom på andre plass og hentet hjem en sølvmedalje. I går ble det et hjertelig gjensyn, etter 45 år.
Norske barn i bunader og med norske flagg overrakte blomster til kongeparet. Prosjektkoret “Koriaustralia”, med 55 sangere fra Oppland og Hedmark under ledelse av Erlend Dalen, er på turne i Australia, og tilfeldighetene gjorde at den norske ambassaden hyret inn koret til å opptre for kongen og dronningen under velkomstseremonien søndag. “Våren” av Edvard Grieg stod på programmet. Senere var det middag for Kongeparet i den norske ambassadørresidensen, med ambassadør Unni Kløvstad som vertskap.
Det bor 10000 nordmenn i Australia, og 23000 australiere har norsk herkomst.
Det vil bli lagt særlig vekt på å fremme Norge som kunnskapsnasjon. Besøket vil derfor vise norsk høyteknologisk utvikling i offshoreindustrien, leverandørindustrien, maritim sektor og forsvarsindustrien. Besøket vil understøtte Norge som en ressurssterk, pålitelig og attraktiv partner både politisk og økonomisk. Kongeparet ledsages av utenriksminister Børge Brende, olje- og energiminister Tord Lien, statssekretær Øistein Bø, Forsvarsdepartementet og statssekretær Dilek Ayhan, Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet.
Statsbesøket tar til mandag 23. februar i Canberra med formelle vertskapsarrangementer som blant annet inkluderer samtale med generalguvernør Peter Cosgrove og møte med statsminister Tony Abbot. Kongen vil også delta på forsvarsindustriseminar denne dagen.
Kongeparet ble tatt i mot av statsminister Tony Abbott i Parliament House i Canberra. Foto: Lise Åserud / NTB scanpix
Deretter vil besøket fortsette i Sydney, hvor Kongen blant annet vil åpne Antarktis-seminar på Australian National Maritime Museum. Kongeparet vil også møte nordmenn bosatt i Australia, samt treffe urfolksrepresentanter ved National Centre for Indigenous Excellence.
Den siste dagen av besøket, fredag 27. februar, vil finne sted i Perth, hvor Kongeparet blant annet vil være til stede på et norsk næringslivsseminar om olje og gass.
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Hentet fra Statsministerens kontor, Canberra, sine hjemmesider, med en kunngjøring fra statsminister Tony Abbott:
I am pleased that Their Majesties King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway will visit Australia from 22 to 27 February 2015 at the invitation of the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd).
Their Majesties will visit Canberra, Sydney and Perth, accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior government and business leaders.
Australia and Norway share a warm relationship. Trade between our nations last year was worth over $1.2 billion.
We both have strong oil, gas and mining sectors. Significant Norwegian companies have invested in Australia’s energy, metals and agriculture sectors.
More than 23,000 Australians have Norwegian ancestry.
I look forward to meeting Their Majesties during their visit to Australia and welcome the growing strength of the ties between our nations.
